Training camp Day 6 observations: Defense shines, offenses closes

Observations from Day 6 of Lions training camp include 3 defensive interceptions and the offense finally clicking in situational drills.

The Detroit Lions were back on the practice field on Tuesday and donned pads for the second time in training camp. With fans in attendance, the energy level was once again raised, but coach Dan Campbell noted ahead of practice that the team was working to stay under control and shore up some of their fundamentals.

“So, we just have to clean that up,” Campbell said, “Back them up here. Let’s get back to what we do fundamentally and get better. But man, the intensity (on Monday) was beautiful. There was an urgency, and I would expect it to step up today another notch and it’ll be a more aggressive day, a little longer, and guys to really go out there and compete.”

Participation report

DJ Reader remains on the PUP list and continues to work with trainers on the side of practice. He’s not projected to return to practice for a while still but remains on the right track and is working to stay off the regular season PUP list . Rookie offensive lineman Christian Mahogany is also still out with an illness and remains on NFI. While the Lions are considering him day-to-day, he is also still only attending team meetings remotely .

Brian Branch continues to only go through walkthroughs and individual drills and is being held out of team drills. C.J. Moore appears to be on a similar workout plan, as we noticed he was also working with a trainer during team drills. It’s not entirely clear when Moore was removed from team activities, but it is notable that UDFA rookie Morice Norris took over as second-team safety three practices ago.

Additionally, running back Zonovan Knight and UDFA wide receiver Jalon Calhoun were also not practicing on Tuesday. Neither had an obvious injury on Monday, so it’s unclear why they missed practice—though it’s worth noting that Calhoun was in attendance but not in. uniform.

During practice, the Lions had a few players suffer injuries, the most significant two appearing to be defensive lineman John Cominsky (right knee) and offensive guard Netane Muti (left shoulder). Cominksy required a cart to exit the field, while Muti left the field under his own power but immediately went inside the training facility.

Alterations to the depth chart

The standard rotations at quarterback, nickelback, and reserve SAM linebacker continue, but the Lions also began mixing up competition at a few other spots.

Corner Ennis Rakestraw has been a staple as an outside corner on the second team, but Steven Gilmore, Khalil Dorsey, and Kindle Vildor all took second-team reps opposite the rookie on Tuesday. Gilmore had appeared to work his way into the job over the last two practices, but coach Campbell noted that while Gilmore has improved, Campbell is still looking for more from the second-year corner.

“He’s got natural instincts, he’s pretty competitive, cover skills, and so he’s one of those guys, look, he’s worked at it, but I expect more out of him,” Campbell said of Gilmore. “I think he’s an instinctive player, so we need him to take a big jump this training camp. And I would say to this point after these five days he’s done a good job.”

Brodric Martin has been holding down the Lions nose tackle spot in Readers’ absence, but veteran Kyle Peko has slowly been taking snaps away and was with the first-team on Tuesday.

“I would say it’s been up and down,” Campbell said of Martin’s progress in camp. “Some of these things we’ve talked about Brodric cleaning up a little bit, it is staying more square. You’re starting to see it, then once it gets square, now he loses some of his power because he’s so focused on being square, then he loses some of his anchor (or) his footwork gets out of whack. So, it’s a work in progress and it’s up and down right now but the kid is working at it and (defensive line coach) Terrell’s (Williams) on him, and I would anticipate that he’s going to continue to grow.

“And look, right now, Peko is rolling in there. Peko is a veteran guy, and we know exactly what he is and he’s just steady, reliable type of guy, man. Does his job and guys trust him, and I know it’s early, but he’s got somebody pushing him there.”

Defense secures 3 interceptions… kinda

With players not being able to tackle the quarterback during practices, it can make interpreting sacks a judgment call. After not securing an interception during team drills through five practices, the Lions snagged three interceptions on Tuesday—though, two arguably could have been called sacks before the throw was attempted.

The first interception came after Ennis Rakestraw floated to the middle of the field and put himself in position to make a play on the ball. Hendon Hooker rushed his throw and it ended up setting up the rookie corner with an easy pick. Rakestraw also had another chance at a pick later on in camp, but it unfortunately bounced off his hands.

The second interception was also generated from Hooker, who was once again pressured—this time by Steven Gilmore—and rookie UDFA Loren Strickland undercut a route and secured a near full extension interception.

The final interception of the day came off a Jared Goff pass, who was trying to squeeze a ball in a tight gap over the middle, and a dropping Derrick Barnes also undercut a route to secure an interception—giving off playoff vibes.

Tackling behind the line of scrimmage

The defense continues to be very stout against the run, and there were several players who stood out as making plays at or behind the line of scrimmage.

Levi Onwuzurike was back at it again on Tuesday, stacking plays and standing out from the crowd. After registering a huge tackle for loss that resulted in multiple stars in my notebook, just two plays later he had a would-be sack on a stunt play with Kyle Peko.

Jack Campbell also got an obvious tackle for loss, as his efforts in the run defense have been noticeable. Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill also seem to be right in the mix of most run plays and have been stout on the line.

McNeill also had a beautiful would-be sack, Josh Paschal also could have gotten credit for a sack—though you could argue it may have been a coverage sack—UDFA Isaac Ukwu delivered again, beating Giovanni Manu cleanly, and Marcus Davenport also got in on the action, sneaking by Dan Skipper for a “sack.”

Davenport continues to show more range in his skills and is even dropping into coverage against running backs. More than once he positioned himself to cover the back in the flat and make an immediate tackle. The only other defender who has been consistently covering backs in the flat as been Carlton Davis, who has made several open field plays against David Montgomery—which is an incredibly tall task.

End-of-game situational drills

Situation 1: 1st team, down six points, ball on the opponent’s 49-yard line, 51 seconds left in game, and one timeout

Jared Goff came out firing and hit Amon-Ra St. Brown on a quick out, which the receiver turned in an 18-yard gain. Goff connected with Jameson Williams for a quick 9-yard gain. Goff overthrew Williams on second down, then Ifeatu Melifonwu broke up a pass on third down, setting up a fourth-and-1 with 29 seconds remaining.

Goff connected with Williams on a 14-yard pass, followed by a first down spike to stop the clock. On second down, Goff connected with St. Brown on an underneath throw that the All-Pro turned up and into an 8-yard touchdown. Jake Bates kicked the extra point to get the “victory.”

Situation 2: 2nd team, down six points, ball on the opponent’s 35-yard line, 28 seconds left in game, and one timeout

Nate Sudfeld found Tom Kennedy on a sideline pass which gave the Lions a quick 10 yards and a first down. Sudfeld went for it all on the next play, connecting with Kaden Davis on a 25-yard touchdown, where the receiver had to execute body control to stay in bounds while making the catch. Bates converts another extra point for the win.

After two days of the defense winning most of the 11-on-11s, the offense really shined in these drills and rebounded well to close out the day.

Offensive standouts

While the offense got its groove at the end of practice, there were a couple other standouts from earlier in the day.

Craig Reynolds is looking very solid and is the clear front-runner for the RB3 job. His pass blocking skills are on point and he stonewalled blitzes from Malcolm Rodriguez and Amik Robertson that led to big plays. Add in his work on special teams and he is in a very good spot at this stage of camp.

After a rough outing on Monday, Daurice Fountain bounced back in a big way, with three notable plays on the day. First is his perfect execution of a 15-yard in route, which is a staple of the WR-X position. He understands how to use his big body to shield defenders and is producing in all the right ways. On another play where he and St. Brown were the only receivers on the field, they ran a crossing route at the snap, and when both defenders (Davis and Arnold) failed to communicate a pass-off, Fountain snatched a catch on a quick slant route and took it 80 yards to the house. To finish things off, Fountain made a spectacular sideline catch where he high-pointed the ball, while still managing to get both feet in on the sidelines.

Kicking game struggles with distance

As the only kicker on the roster, Jake Bates continues to take all the field goal and extra point attempts during practices. His overall success rate during pressure kicks can still improve, he has been consistent inside 50 yards.

Here’s how he did on Tuesday:

Successful kicks: 54, 48, 48, 46, 42, 41, and 37 yards
Missed field goals: 60 (left), 54 (left), and 50 (right) yards

In addition to making seven of his 10 attempts, he also successfully made both his extra point attempts in situational drills to end practice.

Special teams block/pursuit

The Lions spent several portions of their practice on Tuesday working on kickoff drills, with the most informative activity being 1-on-1 blocking vs. pursuit drills. Special teams standouts Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Khalil Dorsey, and Craig Reynolds showed well, but there was also a nice showing for several players who are battling for spots on the depth chart, including Sione Vaki, Jermar Jefferson, Daurice Fountain, Mathieu Betts, Brandon Joseph, Morice Norris, and Parker Hesse. Hesse, in particular, was a player who coach Campbell noted has stood out since pads came on.

“Parker Hesse. Yeah, he did some things,” Campbell said. “He did some things, which quite frankly, I don’t know if I’m that surprised. That’s kind of his game. Some of these guys, you know, you run all of these pass specific drills and you’re not in pads, but that’s kind of more his game too. But I would say, yeah, he showed up.”